Lesnovo monastery, officially called Monastery of St Archangel Michael and St Hermit Gabriel of Lesnovo, is one of the most important medieval monuments of Macedonia.
The monastery is located on the south-west slopes of Mt Osogovo, in the middle of a volcanic crater. It lies at the beginning of Lesnovo village, at the height of 870 meters. The closest townlet is Zletovo which together with Lesnovo belongs to the municipality of Probištip.
The monastery is located in a secluded region which was popular with hermits of the 11th century. One of them, St Gabriel of Lesnovo, lived in the local caves and died there as well.
It remains still unsolved whether Gabriel founded a monastery or was it founded on the spot close to his hermitage. Very little is known of this original monastery since Gabriel’s relics were taken away and the first and only mention of the old monastery comes only from 1330 in a chronicle by its monk Stanislav, a famous writer.
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